DC-3 Crews Will Spend Two Years Preparing To Cross The North Atlantic Again

By Maria Morrison

The quiet morning hours at AirVenture 2022 are dotted with athletic campers getting in laps around light sport aircraft and photographers capturing pink morning sun glinting off polished aluminum.

Inside a briefing room, away from the beginnings of the Oshkosh bustle, the crews of five DC-3s discussed the mission ahead. Today, it is a media flight north of KOSH. In two years, it will be the journey of a lifetime.

The D-Day Squadron--a group of various DC-3s and their crews--will be making the trek across the Atlantic in 2024 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

The five DC-3s that flew in formation for our flight Thursday morning will hopefully be on the return to Europe, and joined by many others. The flight was fantastic, and it was clear that the crews were excited about flying their aircraft and sharing the vast history.

Fifteen DC-3s traveled to Normandy in 2019 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the historic day. The mission was a success both in terms of overall reception and logistics, and the Squadron was globally recognized for its tribute to WWII veterans. Following that, they formed the DC-3 Society, a place for people involved with DC-3s and C-47s to collaborate and learn from each other about all the components of operating these aircraft.

The D-Day squadron will be collaborating with the Commemorative Air Force to make the journey. In 2019, several CAF aircraft joined the historic flight. Through this partnership, the two organization will be able to collaborate ahead of their travel and work hand-in-hand while planning the tour. However, Eric Zipkin, director of operations and mission chief pilot for the D-Day Squadron, was very clear that the squadron is open to all; when it comes to DC-3s, the more the merrier.

“The plan is to assemble as large a group as is practical,” Zipkin said.

The squadron will cross the north Atlantic in early June to participate in the D-Day commemoration on the 6th, then go to Germany for the 75th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

The crews that went in 2019 learned valuable lessons and will be bringing that knowledge to this crossing. While this go-around might be easier, it still won’t be easy.

Logistics are still being sorted out, but there are roughly half a dozen firm commitments from aircraft and strong interest from a dozen more, Zipkin said. These next two years will be spent making plans, doing maintenance, training flight crews and, most importantly, fundraising. 

In 2019, it cost roughly $150 thousand per aircraft to travel round trup from the east coast of the United States to Normandy, France. That doesn’t include costs for transit across the US for the crews on the west coast, maintenance and flying before, or any additional flying around the European continent.

Funds are required not only for June 2024, but for all the time spent beforehand getting pilots night and IFR current as they must be for the journey. Additionally, the crews need to fly together to test the machinery and equipment, and learn what works and what doesn’t. Once the crews all meet, they must practice formations and organize jump teams.

“Having an airplane and crew that is operating actively is the most valuable and necessary element of the team,” Zipkin said.

The next two years will bring news about the formation of the Squadron and the exciting opportunity to see these historic aircraft return to Europe.

FMI: https://ddaysquadron.org/planes/